Season 1, Episode 7 : Feeling Indian for one night!

" Heritage of the lights" - theme of the Deepavali Night 2008

There's a Deepavali Night in my uni, and why not i join in the fun? Indeed, it was fun, and having to attend the occasion, i would say, brings yet another wonder to life- the richness of the Indian culture, more or less, of which i get to know better. Nothing comes free in life, the entrance ticket to the night is priced at a reasonably RM 5.00, and to tell you the truth, it was worth every cent!

The dinner was scheduled to start at 7.30pm, but because it is of known fact for being fashionably late starters, the dinner started at nearly 8.45pm. As i walked into the dinner area, i was impressed and fascinated with the decorations along the way. I can tell that it was the result of timeless effort put into it. The lit lamps at every step of the stairs welcoming the arrival of guests, the coloured cloth wrapped along the railings, the banana tree leaning against the pillars, the colourful kolam, and my beautifully dressed friends in traditional Indian outfit are what i was talking about.

My friends and i with the colourful kolam.

Upon entrance, i was blessed with holy water and a chance to put on a pottu, by my friend, Kayathiri. Vanakkam...

Shian Ee and i with the red pottu on. Ok?

The decor on my dinner table. Lovely, is it?

My uni's Rector officiated the Night with the lighting of the lamps.

Solo traditional Indian dance opened the night to many more performances.

My friends performing on stage. Big round of applause!


Interesting. And they are pretty professional!

Together with the singer, Aru and two dancers, Thivya and Kayathiri.

There were singing performances, Raja and Rani (King and Queen), and lucky draws too. Unfortunately, i am never lucky at these draws and walked away with nothing after it. Dinner was good- putu mayam, dahl, some minced meat with tomato, and some Indian desserts. Soon, after all is said and done, it was time for me to head back to my room.

I wanted to take a snapshot at the decor (background) before leaving, but my friends prepared themselves to be taken in the shot. So...

I decided to go closer, and with them, i joined in the shot! (I'm holding a laduu)

It was wonderful, with all the Indian dances, songs, costumes, decor, and food! True, i've learned more about the spirit of Deepavali, and in fact, this is the first time i've attended a Deepavali celebration on a grander scale. As for this year, i couldn't visit my friends' house as i need to be back at uni. However, Deepavali is still great.

wc08 is feeling Indian, just for one night! And he would like to wish all the Hindus', if not too late, a Happy Deepavali.

While shopping at Ampang Point, i was amazed at this magnificent and splendid piece of artwork, the kolam.

Party for Papa @ Red Box, Pavilion KL

" The more you praise and celebrate life, the more there is to celebrate in life " - Oprah Winfrey

24th October '08 is a marked date in the calender, and in my heart. It is the day my Papa turned 50 years old. As a child, or specifically a son, i am grateful to have a Papa like him. More than words, he is the best Papa i have ever known in this world. We celebrated his birthday in Red Box, Pavilion on the night itself, and i can bet you, it was a night to remember and a night never to forget, with full loads of laughter and joy, fun and excitement.

I was back home by 3.30pm, thanks to my father. The excitement for the night grew more and more as the time ticked. I prepared myself early and readied some materials to be used later in the night. The excitement became unbearable. We were all up and about at 5.45pm and soon headed our way to Pavilion, KL. Unfortunately, as usually a Friday will, traffic was heavy and we were stalled for quite some time at the junction in the middle of our way. Patiently but excitedly, we waited. As we crossed the junction, the road was clear and we reached safely to our destination. By then, it was already 6.30pm. We hurried to the Red Box, first to arrive and began preparing for the BIG night.

All guests were requested to signature on this shirt. Don't you think it looks nice with all the printed signatures?

We were there slightly off schedule but it was still early, and we prepared the place, the laptop and some other materials crucial for the night, and had our dinner ahead of others. The program was supposed to start at 8 pm but it was delayed to nearly 10 pm due to the heavy traffic in KL. Oh well, it's KL for sure! Without further delay, the night turned young once again as we, all of us present, shifted our heads to my Papa. The 'Party for Papa'.

I hosted the incredible event.

My mum made a heartwarming 'welcome speech' to all the guests and thanked them for taking their precious time to spend with my Papa. My sister represented us (my two younger brothers and i) to give a wholesome and touching speech about my Papa.

My sister is ready to give her speech.

After the speeches, it was time for the 'pictures presentation' which we had done it without my Papa's knowledge, and i did it during my mid-sem break (no wonder i was busy). In fact, all the programs lined up were without his knowledge. It was to be a surprise! I have played the montage over and over again and i can tell you that each time i see it, it brings a sense and a feeling that i can't express in words- you just get that feel.

A part of the 6-minute presentation.

After the 'pictures presentation', my Papa took the stage and gave his speech- i knew at that moment, everyone wants to hear from him. It was brief, but it was brilliant. After his speech, the 'princess' and the '3 princes' dedicated 'My Wish' by Rascal Flatts to their 'King' and sung with full of emotion. After the song, my uncles and aunties gave a toast to my Papa... And cheers! The night became young again, and soon, the night got more and more exciting.

We were singing as a family at the end of the song.

Cheers for us!

After the emo part, we moved on to play the game. The game was called 'Pair Em Up: Mix and Match'. It was sort of like a memory game, where we pair two identical objects. In this game, the 'object' are referred to as body poses.

Me explaining the rules and regulations of the game.

Only 10 seconds to identify the similar poses. Can you spot them?

Our player, Aunt Karen, paired them correctly. I wished we could have more time for Round Two- time was short. Anyway, thanks to those who participated!

After the game, we made way for the ladies to storm the stage. They certainly created the mood for a dance with 'Grease Lightning'.

The aunties wowed the crowd. Well done!

Following right after the aunties' performance was the uncles' performance. They called themselves the 'Dancing Kings'. Their performance was a show-stopper and totally hilarious. They really know how to make fun, of the opposite sex. Due to some reasons, i have decided not to post any of the photographs as they may seem inappropriate.

Cake-cutting ceremony! I brought in the cake and we sang the birthday song. As always, the cake cutting ceremony is always accompanied by a photography session. And yes, we did. Lots and lots of them with the birthday boy!

Picture perfect.

My Papa with all the teenagers, young adults and kids- cousins, childhood friends...

While waiting for the cake to be cut and distributed, we started the second game, that is, the 'Sumo Struggle'. The aim of this game is to burst a middle-sized balloon using only the belly. It is a pair game, initially for couples only but we decided to make it more interesting and opened it to all ages. The players needed to blow up their own balloon and burst it.

After the game ended, the slices of cakes were distributed. That officially marked the end of the programs for the night. My Papa was soon to be 50 years and 1 day old. However, that did not mean it was time to leave. The night was still young and it was a free-flow of karaoke until 3 am, and we partied. We sang from our lungs and danced to the beat.

Dance and sing.

By 2 am, we could feel our throat sore and our feet numb. One by one, we left Red Box, with a broad smile and a wonderful heart. My Papa was most certainly feeling all the joy in the world. Apart from him, we too had a fantastic time. Thank you all for helping us, my family, make my Papa's Party for Papa a blast!

wc08 is happy everything turned out the way it should be, and everyone, certainly he, had enjoyed the night!

Season 1, Episode 6: Deepavali Break '08 lights...

" Festival of Light "

Indeed, Deepavali is just a few days away. I'm excited, thinking of the Indian food- muruku, wadi, idaly (forgive me if i misspell the names). On top of that, it's the holiday! Truly, Deepavali is the Festival of Light... As for now, i shall get back to my uni life story before moving on to the Deepavali celebration and even more, a grand occasion on the 24th Oct. Stay glued then.

The week before Deepavali was rather tiring and stressful, as in my previous post, i stated the hurdles i shall undertake. As i'm bloging now, i'm feeling, perhaps, weights off my shoulder. Yes! My tests are over for now and i can relax a little- but i have to double or triple my effort after this short break as i've got weird feelings about my tests recently and it is not good. Anyways, what is done is done, and i've also completed my assignments and projects- Thinking Sills and Drama. This Drama project relives the memory of my drama days in secondary school. To be honest, i missed working together with my friends to perfect the play although it takes ample time and effort. I also missed the good times we had when we were practising our drama- including birthday celebrations together and makan-makan, and even the EOM outing! Hah, those sweet memories!

Don't get me wrong, dear Uni friends. I also enjoy every bit when working with them. They are one group of fun, happy-go-lucky people. My group was assigned 'Keys,Locks and Open Doors' to be adapted into a play. We remained very closely to the story but added comical scenes a little and changed some characters to fit the play. I would say, as always, when the day of performance comes, you will always perform better than the days you practiced (same as during the schooling days). I have more than once proved this statement to be true.

My enthusiastic groupmates. Clockwise from me: Ella, Jun Li, Joachim, Shian Ee, Amy (hugging doll), Jennifer, and Pei Wen (both holding cheque of infinity amount).

Me, in white coat, as the Father in a graveyard scene.

Me, in black shirt, consoling my 'sister'. We were playing multiple roles.

Me, in full-swing with emotion, trying to express all my problems to the Father.

We were quite happy with what we have done. With that, we celebrated together at our cafe with a Roti Tisu. Roti Tisu has never tasted any sweeter! Cheers!

We took videos of our play and i will post it in here, as my acting debut (haha!). Seriously, i was suddenly all in for drama all over again, but til then, it's over for now.

wc08 is feeling ready for the Deepavali weekend, and for this case, include Friday, the 24th, night. He also feels of making a debut in acting again, and to rewind time and be back with the secondary school teachers and friends to practise and practise and practise the drama 'til perfection all over again...

Season 1, Episode 5 : Paint the pain...

" GURU - Gee, yoU aRe yoU "

My previous post clearly states that i would 'rest' from blogging for the time being but here i am, in front of my laptop to blog another post about my uni life. It is not that my hands are itching to type and to punch these printed keys, but i'm blogging here as another form to relieve my stress. Indeed, i'm writing after (days, but still...) taking my Engineering Maths Test 2. It was, rather, killer and i seriously felt of crying within me. I just simply panicked and pressured my brain to answer a question that caused me to go off and astray, lost and blind. Trying to be optimistic, what is done is done, as long as i did my best (but i would admit that i didn't give it my all! That's what i'm furious about! And no, i'm not sounding anyhow regretful.) Hopefully i'll manage to secure some points, sufficient to meet my expectation and close this book for now and give undivided attention to Chemistry! At least one thing is for sure, one hurdle is down.

Moving on... This week has been really different, but interesting. Classes were on as usual on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, my uni had the Engineering Design Exhibition (EDX) and no classes were held from morning until 5pm. I went to look at some ingenious ideas and admire some creativity of participants in the exhibition. There was also the games booth. I decided to try my luck in the 'Mystery Box'. An item will be placed in a black box and i had to guess it. Taking into account its sound and weight, i guessed a toothpaste and indeed, i was correct! How lucky... As i strolled around the exhibition, i stumbled upon a new wardrobe concept/system. It helps us mix and match our clothes by displaying all types of clothes with the same colour, inform us when we had worn the clothes (you do not want to wear the same thing at every occasion, don't you?) and it can select the clothes you should wear according to your mood. Interesting as it may seem, i felt hungry and diverted to the KFC (mini stall) to grab a bite.

At the games booth.

The exhibition. Crowd seem to ease a little, but there are people still.

Thursday was even better! It was still EDX and I attended a public lecture by my uni's Chancellor, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, entitled 'National Identity and Power Sharing' (the title of the lecture itself intrigues me, with all sorts of politics going on in Malaysia now). He arrived and everyone turned to him. When the MC invited him to start, my ears were open to hear what would be his lecture like.

Lecturing...

Q and A sessions. Some thanked him for being a great PM before beginning the question. Some even jokingly asked him how was his Raya. It was interesting to hear his replies because it makes sense! And he does look approachable...

After the lecture, Tun Dr Mahathir took a round at the exhibition. Behind him is my Rector, Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin.

We were like paparazis. He is sunk in the pool of UTP students.

Halted at one of the many booths. Back view.

Moving to other booths. Erm...

Hmm... i just wonder how my friend could actually capture this picture. I wasn't even near to him.

I told you! It was a pleasure to have listened to his lecture. I am grateful i did.

English Language Club (abbreviation ELC) held a family dinner at Pocket D and i could tell you that i enjoyed the dinner. No, it wasn't the food that entertained me. The food was simple, like i have been taking every single day- rice with curry/fried chicken and some sausages. In fact, i was expecting more as i kept myself in hunger since lunch time at noon. Nevertheless, it was still good food. The dinner started pass 9 pm, which means i lasted without food for 9 hours or so. Hungrily, as most of us present were, we ate.

As always, in this type of dinner, there would be games in the list. First was a blow-til-burst balloon filled with flour. What!? I didn't even manage to burst a single balloon. Second game was the musical chair- my second time playing this game even since i entered uni. There was a twist in this game- the castaways or leftouts are to be painted on their faces or powdered with flour. At an instant, i didn't want to get messy and achieved to last until the final 2. One more pass and i'll be free from being messed up. True enough, i won the match but there was another twist. Since the winner, me, will receive a prize, i was the one to face the punishment instead of the runner-up and my face was being painted colourfully.

Painted me... I'm a little mix of all...

The game ended and the group of people present shrunk. However, the enjoyment didn't shrink like how the people has. All of us, the players and the organizers, have our faces painted, and we all had a 'family' photo of the funny painted faces. Honestly, it was nice to be painted, but to remove them was tremendously troublesome and rather difficult. Nonetheless, the fun was there and we chit chatted until 11 pm before i left the place to head back to my room.

wc08 is trying his level best to be optimistic as there are still more and more hurdles ahead. At the same time too, he shall relax and let paint ease the pain.

Season 1, Episode 4 : Caught in Stress-Web

" Give your stress wings and let it fly away " - Carin Hartness

Indeed, the mid-sem break was, to me, terrific and unforgettable. However, it has come the time of the aftermath of the mid-sem break where all the accumulated projects and coursework start to flood in. And on top of that, it really is in time for Test 2 sometime soon. As the title goes, i'm truly caught in the stress-web made by Spidey UTP, and i shall survive.

Three major projects are on the list: Thinking Skills project, Moral Reflection project and English Drama project. My Drama project is scheduled to be performed on the 20th Oct 2008 (Mon). Preparation is still midway and we still need some final polishing to perfection. Thinking Skills project is due on the 24th Oct 2008 (Fri). I could say, my group has drafted and sketched almost completely the whole project. So, it would, again, need some final perfect work and polishing. The Moral Reflection project is supposed to be sent in by Week 12 but unfortunately, with a few classes canceled, i'm not sure of when would be the actual date to be handed in.

Tests! As said before, i will bury myself in the books, and i should, by now. Test 2 for Engineering Maths, Chemistry and Physics are on the line and i'm in dire need of revision. Scheduled this Friday would be my Engineering Maths Test 2 and next Wednesday will be my Chemistry Test 2. As for Physics, the Test 2 is yet to be announced, but i know, it's going to be just around the corner.

wc08 is caught in the Stress Web and hopefully to escape from it soon. With so much work needs to be done, he would, sorry, not be able to blog so very often. But not to worry, once he has release himself, he'll be back in the blogosphere. He wishes all in his same boat the best too!

ps: Check out this song by various female artiste. Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Carrie U, Fergie, Leona Lewis, LeAnn R and many more. It's a song about fighting cancer.

Mamma Mia!

" Mamma mia, here i go again. My my, how can i resist you?

Mamma mia, does it show again? My, my, just how much i've missed you.
Yes i've been brokenhearted, Blue since the day we parted.
Why, why did i ever let you go?
Mamma mia, now i really know. My my, i could never let you go. "

What an amazing week! If i'm not too late, i would like to wish once again to all my friends celebrating Raya a Selamat Hari Raya (and keep some rendang and ketupat for me!). Indeed, on Wednesday, the first day of Raya, i visited my father's friend's house and had awesome lunch there.

Well-known for her (the host's wife) cakes, she made some splendid ones for the 'open house'. Before the delight of cakes, i filled myself with plates of tasty nasi with rendang ayam, kambing and some lembu. Raya would be almost incomplete without digesting some ketupats and lemang with kuah satay too, and i did take some. Yummy... Once i was done with the main course, i headed to the cakes section. Due to some reasons, she made only 3 choices of cakes (previous years she made more) : chocolate cake- super-delicious. One of a kind and i bet you too will be spell-bounded upon taking the first bite; surprise cake- yes, you read right. It's called a Surprise cake. It was tasty too, but not as good as the chocolate cake; and finally the dates cake- that was her first time baking this cake, and it was sort of a new creation done by her. Eat together with some sauce and a scoop of ice cream and soon you'll be in wonderland! Honestly speaking, i might have put on an additional one or two kilograms this break!

Enough with makan. To spend my remaining days of holiday, i went for some window-shopping. Also, night after night, i faced the laptop to do some preparation for yet another big occasion. Not letting the cat out from the basket yet, i'm stopping here about it for now.

'Mamma Mia! The Movie' is simply awesome. It is fun. It is entertaining. It is hilarious (to me). It is complete. It is perfect! I watched Mamma Mia! at the MBO, Galaxy Ampang and i left the room pleasantly entertained. As i stepped into the room, i sort of had a rather high bar set for the show, from all the feedbacks i've read or heard. Minutes after the show has begun, true enough, i was in the mood for the show and brought into a thrilling ride from beginning until the end. I didn't read up the summary before watching and hoped the story tells understandably. It does and it opens mysteriously with Sophie inserting letters into the mailbox, and soon starts to sing 'I Have A Dream'. That's all i'm saying here, i'm not letting the cat out from the basket too.

Meryl Streep plays leading actress Donna. I'm amazed that she can actually sing. In fact, most of the cast can sing, and dance!

Another scene where Donna and the many housewives sing 'Dancing Queen', another great song by ABBA. The songs from this musical are from ABBA alone, and that makes it even more A-grade. I liked this scene, where they danced near the crystal clear ocean.

Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard play the role of Sophie's possibly father. Another great scene is when Sophie is about to be married to Sky, played by Dominic Cooper.

This show has a story-line too! It centres about the mother-daughter relationship, of which the daughter is brought up by a single mother, Donna. This show is not all about jokes and dances, it too has a heart in it, thus making this movie an ideal watch. If you're up for a surprise, i'd advise you not to read any summary of any sort because there will be a slight twist in the end.

Mamma Mia! takes the top spot internationally for the fifth time and the highest grossing movie musical of all time. It is also the third highest grossing film in UK, behind 'Titanic' and 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. Mamma Mia! is a stage-to-film adaptation and was named after ABBA's chart topper, Mamma Mia. To some, this show could be a sing-a-long and feet-tapping as songs from ABBA in the movie ranges from movie-titled 'Mamma Mia', 'Dancing Queen', 'Winner Takes It All', 'Honey, Honey', 'Money, Money, Money', 'SOS', 'Super Trouper', 'When All Is Said And Done', 'Voulez Vous', 'Our Last Summer', 'I Have A Dream', and more! Just a reminder, don't go back immediately after the show. You'll be entertained with two more hit songs! After about 1 hour 50 minutes, i left the room feeling energetic, greatly entertained and wholesomely satisfied. Honestly, this might be my best movie to watch 2008, if i may be a little exaggerating. But it is really good.

Argh... It's about time to pack for back to uni. How i wish it was another week, or longer? Anyway, wc08 feels great this break, and hoped to be up and about for the after-sem. Mamma Mia everyone!